Alcohol and Food Talk
 

So I decided to have a beer at a show I was just at. I looked up the calories and totally budgeted for it. I am such a "lightweight" ( I hate that term) that one beer gets me buzzed. Anyways I get home and totally think "I want to eat, that would totally be comforting when I am drunk!". I ate one meatball, two bites of toffee and a fudgesicle before I told myself to stop because it wasn't comforting and I didn't want to not reach my goal and I couldn't identify what I was hungry for. It wasn't a full binge and I stopped it!

The next time I decide to have a beer, I am going straight to bed, no drunk eating!

I could probably name myself, Ilikebeer&wine. Not that I am a total drunk, but a glass as I prepare dinner and a glass with dinner have been standard practice in our house. I totally agree that alcohol increases food intake and in my case I am pretty certain that it interferes with fat metabolism (there is a fair amount of scientific literature that supports this) So, sadly, but gladly, it is pretty much off the table for me. It was a little hard at first, especially because DH is still imbibing as usual. But now that the habit is broken I'm fine with it.

Anyone else out there share this issue?

Oh, I soooo enjoy a drink after a rough day. However, I noticed 1 drink leads to another for me. It's been hard on weekends because when we go out to eat, we order a drink before our meal. It's hard but it's useless calories for me. I just have to "weigh" it out every time: social/unwind or save calorie intake.:rolleyes:

I so know that feeling of do I relax and enjoy myself... or do I save the calories. I try to budget in a glass of wine or beer, but have to be aware that it is likely that I might eat more and fight it. You so much have to 'weight" the options out, some times it is worth it, other times it may not be.

Reading this thread reminds me of college. My boyfriend (now husband) played football so it was a party every night we could. After a good night of drinking we ALWAYS went to Wal-Mart and got a frozen pizza, threw it in the oven and mowed down on it before we went to bed. Looking back, i want to go slap myself for doing that! haha. Now i don't have a problem with controlling the drinking and eating, but my husband does (he's gotten a lot better though). So i am REALLY challenged to not give in to my own drunken hungrer AND to resist when he is giving in. To help I've basically cleaned the house of most snacking materials and just have veggies and fruit everywhere, so i don't feel bad if i do give in a bit.

Oh, the dinners out - especially with a group of friends:rolleyes: I can't really live by hard and fast rules, but in general I can resist during the week, but allow myself an indulgence on the weekend. It is so nice to see that others share the "do I do, or do I don't" delemna.

I have recently notices that although the husband continues to enjoy his nightly drinks, without my participation he is slowing down some. I'm not sure that he has even noticed.

Interesting note about the fat metabolism - I just started fit day again for the second time Feb. 28 and am a little down that my loss seems slower than last time, just 1.5 lbs to date and I have done a decent job, even under on some days. Anyway, I decided not to compromise on drinking and allow for 2 or more 55 cal beers a day. It doesn't make me crave more food thank God, but if it means it takes me longer, I guess I'll have to live with it.

Incentive to get and stay at target weight:
 

OK, ladies, a new study indicates that women who are within their correct BMI gain less weight when the enjoy a drink or two:

Women Who Consume Alcohol Gain Less Weight: Study

I don't believe the occasional glass of wine is going to slow down fat loss, but google "fat loss and alcohol" to see the facts. Drinking nightly will absolutely slow down fat loss. Additionally, studies show that those who drink daily tend to store more visceral fat (belly). That increases risk of heart disease. Sorry to be a party pooper guys but gotta be honest.

Not a party pooper at all, Beth
 

I wasn't really talking about 1 or 2 glasses a week, or even a couple of glasses on an occassional Friday night. My comment about fat metabolism was aimed at the kind of consumption you noted: the day in, day out 2 or 3 glasses, which was my habit prior to mid-January. Before starting this round of weight reduction, everytime I tried to lose weight I would get tripped up by a frothy glass of beer - which would turn into 2 or 3. Even when I was keeping the calories at 1500ish, I couldn't lose weight, especially body fat. Sadly, I have a high tolerance for alcohol so I rarely feel drunk even though I couldn't pass a sobriety test to save my life.

At this point I keep my consumption to 1, maybe 2 glasses a week, mostly on the weekends. And I gotta say it seems to be working. Maybe it is all in my head. If so... way to go head! :D
Pam

I am like you rbs... or like you use to be. I drink sometimes when I am making dinner. I have my music playing and watching the sunset over the ocean and it is great. I'm lucky that alcohol does not make me hungry. It's the opposite for me. Once I start eating the taste of the wine changes for me. All in moderation I guess.

I used to have a glass or two of wine at the end of a hard day too, not every day, but anywhere from 1 to 3 nights a week. Maybe it's the extra sunshine, maybe the exercise is doing what it's supposed to, but I just haven't felt the "need" lately. Turning down a margarita when we're out for dinner....that's harder to do.

Hi all! I can really identify with this thread. I like a glass of wine while cooking and one or two more afterwards. Alcohol make me hungry too, so the calories really add up fast. I have tried in the past to diet, exercise, but still enjoy a glass or two of wine and I saw little if any progress. This week I decided to get more serious. I joined this site to track my food, added 15 more minutes of cardio to my workout and haven't had any wine all week! It hasn't been too tough until today, Friday...I kinda feel like I deserve some, but I'm not doing it. I told myself I can have a few drinks (two) this weekend and that's it. I saw a bit of progress on the scale this morning so that has to be my motivation.

Sharon

Welcom Sharon
 

I have to say, of all the threads, this one has been the most surpising. I don't know why I thought I was the only one with these thoughts and experiences, but I did. So, seeing how many of us share the same experience and insights has be quite an eye opener. Thank-you all for sharing!

Sometimes there is a little shame involved when we realize that we are drinking more than is "recommended" or "healthful" (How many of you have fudged the alcohol consumtion questions on health questionairs? - I certainly have.) But reading your stories about taking charge is quite inspirational. Thank-you Ilikechocolate for initiating it.

Ilikebeer&wine (aka Pam)

Here Here!!!!

Glad that others found this thread helpful!

I just looked up the calories in my favorite beer, Hoegaareden. 176 calories per beer! Yikes, I had two a few days ago! I was also so hungover the next day that I didn't make the best food choices. Another reason to sip soda water when going out.

The good thing is that it gave me reason to say, if I make this choice, this will happen. So if I choose to have a a beer (or two) I will feel bad the next day and possibly get sidetracked from my goals. But if I choose not to, I will feel good the next day and possibly make better food choices.

Not to say that drinking is bad within itself, I just noticed I feel better when I don't.

I realize no one has made a post since feb. but Im new here and SO GLAD I found this thread! I love red wine at night...and the sweeter the better. bring on the italian koolaid! My problem is not that it makes me hungry, its that my wine glasses have turned to goblets over the past few years and those "2 glasses of wine" are NOT the recommended 4oz that a glass of wine is supposed to be! So Im cutting back. ALOT. I havent been drinking every night anymore and when I do im trying to keep it 2 1 real serving of wine. Last time I was dieting and thought I wanted a drink I made a 1 jigger of vodka and 1 lime wedge and seltzer water (sodium free) and that did the trick. cant afford any good vodka these days tho...I guess If i feel i want alcohol THAT BADLY I have other problems though lol...dont we all...anyways, im just really glad I found other people that are having difficulties with alcohol in their diets. This forum was good for me to read. :)

Hi FN,
Thanks for bringing this thread back. Last weekend I really went off the wagon. (It had been a stressful week - as if I really needed an excuse :rolleyes:) Friday night I reverted to my old habit of 3 beers plus a port nightcap. I really felt the effects the next day, but still had 2 LARGE glasses of wine Sat. night. Man, they sure tasted good at the time, but Sunday, again, I paid the price.

I keep trying to remind myself how I will feel the next day when confronted with the do-I-do, or do-I-don't question. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn't, especially when DH opens a lovely bottle of shiraz and puts it on the dinner table :eek:.

Baby steps...baby steps

Be well, all

Pam

Hi everyone hasnt been a post on here for a while but i just wanted to have my say on the whole alcohol and dieting issue. Ive hot to admit that a drink actually helps me not consume so much food. I eat less and as a result actually lose more weight then a weekend without the drink. I do only drink spirits though with lots of diet coke-usually vodka,rum or my favourite malibu(although its really sweet its only worth half a point a pub measure! It totally puts me off food for the whole day and the next so i see it as an advantage. If i dont drink on a weekend which i havent since january i snack more and dont lose weight which is totally the case. Health wise its great not to have it for the sake of my liver and hangovers but obesity also affects health. I dont feel guilty after a drink cos i know its low cal and it speeds my weight loss which helps my moods. Whatever suits but i do make sure i have a healthy meal before i start-so im not being sick. Health is more important and i only drink a couple once a month now instead of too much every weekend. I admit though i do miss it but only for weight loss sake but im used to it now and learning new ways to lose weight steadily without the need for alcohol!

Green with envy
 

Boy, I sure wish I was you Tracy. Although I have to admit I do understand the logic in how alcohol could replace snacking, you are wise to cut back for other reasons. Did you find that you had to change your social life to drop the weekend drinking?

Hey runbikeski it kinda was an advantage to cut back. I dont really have a huge social life- through the week i have a few good friends who visit for a coffee but weekends i prefer to spend them with my partner. I used to find that drinking at home with friends and family used to be a bit OTT-lets just say my house became somewhere for people to come and use just for a place to get drunk. We didnt enjoy that and so we began to keep it how we like it. Just the 2 of us,drinking at a sensible pace and listening to the music we want and singing along. We havent done it for months now but instead we have found a lovely quiet bar where we can have a couple on an afternoon and come home-merry but not totally wrecked. It has slowed me down weight loss wise but if i just stick to my allowance i can still lose it,just takes alot more hard work!
Ive learnt now just to drink if im really in the mood not just because its the weekend. Now if i have a drink its worth it because i dont do it often and its more of a pleasure,it actually tastes much better when i drink now because i dont do it as much. But i do also know just after 2 and im tipsy. Ive grown up alot nd left the binge drinking behind. Im 25 with kids. Others friends still like to get drunk every weekend but i dont want to be hungover when kids return home-its not fair to lie on sofa being ill when they want to play. Im not saying im never going to have a wild one again i will but not to the point when im totally wrecked i cant move. Ive learnt when to stop- i know when ive had enough now. Ive also figured out that drinking is a thing to be enjoyed in moderation but not as a way to block emotions and please others. This is where the problems start. I was always known as the party girl who knows how to let her hair down but it gets boring after a while now im seen as fun with or without the alcohol! I just think theres more to fridays and saturdays now instead of the boozing. Like enjoying the peace and lie ins til kids get back! Bliss

Wow Tracy,
I am really impressed. You express maturity beyond your years. As a former party girl myself, like you I have just found new ways to let my hair down that don't come back to haunt me the next morning - it just took me a little longer.

You go girl!

Pam

Thanks Pam Im really proud of who i am on the inside and glad that i stand firm to my morals and priorities. All i got to do is learn how to love what i look like on the exterior and ill be ready to go out there and live my life just how i want to!!!

The consumption questions I recall ask how many drinks per week. I not only generally fudge on that number but also think about the fact that those drinks are not really "per week" but all on Friday and/or Saturday! :o

bringing this thread back again...
 

Hi Everyone,

What a great thread. I had to dig to find it though. I'm glad there are a few winos on this diet forum. hahaha. So, have you all been able to limit or forgo the alcohol since May? Since I'm on Atkin's Induction now, I've had to completely eradicate wine from my diet. It's sheer craziness. I used to have a glass with dinners (and not a 4oz.er) and maybe a little more on the weekends (you do the math..), and now, there is none.

And I love wine! Bring on the reds, the whites, and the sparklings! Food pairing with dinners make an excellent compliment to both the dinner and the wine. Ahh... wine.... It's a toss up between adding red wine (4.1 carbs per 3.5 oz) or nuts to my diet when I move out of the Induction phase. :) However, Atkin's (and other low-carb diets) recommends adding clear alcohols over wine - boo.

Has anyone been able to successfully integrate a healthy (lol) amount of wine into their diets?

yay for Wine!!
 

I was so glad to find this thread. I've been using FitDay now for 3 weeks and was saddened to see how many carbs and calories are in my beloved wine. I love to have a glass or two every evening and budgeted them into my daily intake. I however am one that loves to consume all manners of cheese with my wine so sabotage #1 right there. I have taken to vodka and water with a lemon instead. More water than vodka. it's about 1/2 the calories of wine and none of the carbs.
I too am doing the Atkins and Praise Jeebus, you can have cheese!!
I have the added stressor that I own 2 bar/restaurants and the salesmen are always trying to sell me the latest and the greatest. talk about your double edged sword. Oh well, it's a dirty job but someone has to taste it!! lol!!
Bottom line for me is I simply have to budget the calories and then limit the amount to one or two tops!!

Good luck everyone, Beth W

Beth,

Oh, poor you! Having to taste test all that wonderful wine! ;) I got off Induction today, so I'm now trying to figure out which wine I would like as my celebration wine. I'll have to have it at a restaurant (most likely my sushi joint) though, because if I bring a bottle home... umm... the bottle would probably be in the recycling the next day. lol.

The vodka switch sounds intimidating. I do like vodka & grapefruit or vodka & pomegranate, but no fruit juices are allowed... hmm...

Hope you're having a good one!

Hey Iceland

If you drink a really good vodka(I like Grey Goose) there is very little taste. And if you have it in a really cool martini glass with an olive and just sip it it's really quite fun retro! Remember tho, 1/2 vodka, 1/2 water shake on ice and pour. that way you get 2 drinks for about 120 cal and no carbs. Wine as you know, depending on the size of your glass (and mine are never petite) is at least 110 per glass plus the carbs.
However a dry white is your best bet for atkins friendly. I prefer a good Pinot Noir myself but like you, the bottle WILL be in the recycling in the morning!!
Ah well, Good luck and if you're ever in the phoenix area, I LOVE sushi!!!

I'll have to try it. I'm going out for korean food. I wonder how many cals are in soju - it's clear and I'm guessing it's safe. I'll have to look it up.

Before this whole trying to lose weight thing, I was exploring the world of red Zin's. I was living out in Napa before the movie "Sideways" came out, and I loved Pinot Noirs. However, after that movie a lot of the vineyards decided that they should try a hand at Pinot Noir's and cash in on the good press that the grape was receiving (often with terrible results!). Still a great grape though, if you find a good winery. :)

"Petite" -- love it. Hahaha. I don't know anyone who actually drinks petite glasses (unless they ordered by the bottle).

I have to admit, I go through stages with wine. My first love was Merlot, then a lengthy affair with Cab, and now the Pinot Noir. You're right tho, there a alot of marginal/bad ones out there. My new fav is the Benziger from Sonoma valley. It isn't terribly remarkable but it isn't a wine you have to "think" about.

Hope your Korean was good. I have yet to find a good one in my area.
I'm having terrible carb cravings today. I think I'll just go take a nap!!

If I decide to drink, I try to save it for as late as possible in the day. This means after I've eaten, worked out and showered. It's easier to stick to one drink and not eat more when my bedtime "deadline" is close. I'm able to savor it like a dessert.

It's more difficult when I'm out at a restaurant. On those days, I usually just accept that I'll be consuming more on that day and enjoy it! :)

Dang!! Naps are good! I have found since I've been doing Atkins that if I do "over-carb", I get really tired!!!

Hopefully I can be good the rest of the nite. Maybe 1 drink, maybe 2:cool:

Ahh, the Korean was excellent. Thanks. :)

I went out tonight with some friends, and I had two glasses of Pinot Gris -- only .9 carbs for 3.5 oz. I was happily buzzed, which is fantastic considering it was only 7 oz of wine. Hahah. Totally worth it. Who would of thought that a prior wino could get high off of that little?? It's like my tolerance reset itself after two weeks of Induction. I should do Induction more often!

Isn't it Amazing how taking our bodies backto less of everything somehow makes having less more enjoyable. Being able to appreciate and savor instead of just inhaling everything in site!

FYI, to anyone interested in Eastern Philosophy, I had my 1st Reiki session yesterday. The jury is still out but it was intriguing enough that I will try it again.